


We’ll Get Lost Together (Let Me Flow)

by easycomeeasygo



Series: Don't Ever Let Me Come Down From Your Love [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten-centric, Drinking, M/M, Minor Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Minor Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Nakamoto Yuta, Mutual Pining, NCT China line, Qian Kun is Whipped, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Ten is a confident gay turned panicked gay, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-01-06 00:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18377321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easycomeeasygo/pseuds/easycomeeasygo
Summary: “I’m Kun, it’s nice to meet you,” a softer voice says.When Ten really gets to look at Kun, his brain short circuits. He’s hot.





	1. when my moon rises

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first NCT fic done mostly to satiate the amount of screaming I've done into the void about Kun/China line  
>   
> unbeta'd

Ten meets Sicheng and Taeyong in dance class. Him and Taeyong are immediately drawn to each other by virtue of being the only ones with brightly colored hair, and Sicheng came along with Taeyong. They all get along well, and while Ten wouldn’t consider them _friends,_ necessarily, he thinks they could be real, actually hanging out because they like each other and not because they’re forced to because of class, friends. They’re definitely they kind of people that he would want to be around beyond class and the occasional times they’ll get coffee or boba after which they’ve been doing for the last few weeks.

Today though, he can tell they’re planning something. Taeyong is acting weird, weirder than usual. His suspicions are confirmed when they approach him right after class ends.

“Hey Ten,” Taeyong starts, doe eyes beginning to come out as if he’s already preparing to beg Ten if necessary, “Are you busy tomorrow night?”

Ten’s eyes narrow, he’s going to say yes to whatever they ask, but he may as well play along, “No, why?”

To Ten’s surprise, Sicheng answers, “We’re going out clubbing with our friends, you should come.”

Taeyong smiles brightly, “You should come get ready and pre-game with us! I have a spare room so you can crash there afterwards. It’ll be really fun.”

“Well if _Sicheng_ wants me to, I guess I have to,” Ten teases. “But really, that does sound fun, I’d love to.”

Taeyong replies happily, “Great! We usually pre-game at me and Jaehyun’s place. Once I find out what time everyone else is coming over I’ll let you know!”

After they part ways, Ten pops in his headphones puts on one of his playlists, and heads home. He’s surprised at just how excited he is to go out with Taeyong and Sicheng. He can’t believe it’s been an entire month since the semester started and that’s only _now_ actually going out, but it makes sense. He didn’t expect moving to be this hard, but considering how last minute he decided to transfer and leave Bangkok, he probably has a metric ton of stress and feelings to unpack.

\----

Ten shows up to the address Taeyong had texted him, already dressed to go out, in his favorite pair of jeans that make his ass look great and a plain black crop top. He has his backpack thrown over his shoulder, filled up with a change of clothes, makeup, and his nighttime skincare routine because _priorities._

When he knocks on the door, a tall, handsome, dimpled man he doesn’t recognize opens the door.

“Oh, you must be Ten right? I’m Jaehyun, Taeyongie talks about you a lot,” he says with a welcoming smile ushering Ten inside. Ten takes off his boots and grabs one of the pairs of slippers by the door. “He’s doing his makeup, Sicheng is mixing drinks in the kitchen, make yourself at home.”

“Hey Ten,” Sicheng says messing around surrounded by different bottles of liquor and mixers, before yelling out, “Yongie-hyung! Ten’s here.”

Taeyong’s head pokes out of the door, smiling and Ten heads over to him.

The bathroom is full of makeup and different hair products. It’s a controlled chaos, if it was anything but he knows Taeyong would be losing his shit. And Taeyong, Taeyong looks _good_. His bright red hair is slicked back, his eyebrow cut fresh, and he’s in a loose white tee that shows off his collar bones, ripped jeans, and is in the middle of giving himself smokey eyes. Ten is impressed and voices it.

“I felt like going all out tonight,” Taeyong says shyly.

“Are you trying to impress me?” Ten teases.

Taeyong laughs brightly, “Obviously.”

Taeyong clears room on the counter for Ten to use, putting away a bunch of palettes in specific drawers and holders. “You can use any of my stuff too if you want.”

“Thanks,” Ten replies, taking out his makeup from his backpack and beginning his usual going out routine.

“So who exactly are we going with tonight? I’m excited to meet your friends.”

Taeyong finishes putting all of his stuff and begins to count, “You, me,  Sicheng, Jaehyunnie, you met him right? He’s my room-mate slash boyfriend. The boyfriend part is new,” When Ten looks at Taeyong through the mirror he sees a faint blush take over Taeyong’s face. Adorable. “Johnny, he’s really tall, American, photography major. Doyoung’s a vocal major, he’s great. His boyfriend Yuta is an international student too, he’s Japanese! I’m pretty Taeil-hyung might be coming but I need to check. And then Sicheng’s friends Yukhei and Kun. They’re both international students.Yukhei is from Hong Kong I think? He’s big and loud, like an overgrown puppy. And Kun’s Chinese, he’s really sweet.”

Ten finishes up his eyeliner, puts it back in his makeup bag, and finally turns towards Taeyong, “Taeyong,” he says incredulously, “That’s _so_ many people.”

“We could easily do more! Jungwoo usually comes too but he’s out of town this weekend, Yukhei will be disappointed about that. Sometimes our friend Mark and his boyfriend Donghyuck come out too and bring their baby gay crew. Kun and Sicheng also have a group of baby gay Chinese students that they basically raise. I think we could easily now be... 21? Deep if we tried?”

Ten just stares blankly. “That’s incredibly horrifying.”

Taeyong just shrugs, “Would be fun for a house party at some point, probably. And it would be fun to plan too. Imagine a 21 person group chat? We probably would have to do a doodle to find a night that works for everyone.” Taeyong tilts his head to the side and pouts, looking pensive. “This definitely needs to happen.”

At that moment, Sicheng walks in holding two cups. “Drinks!” He shoves the cups into Taeyong and Ten’s hands.

“I assumed you’re a lightweight like hyung only not as bad, so your drink isn’t that strong, Ten. Just let me know if you want more liquor or anything.”

Ten nods, “Thank you, Sicheng.” He could be worse but hey, being a lightweight does have some positives. He barely spends money on drinks when he’s out, not that he ever ends up buying his own drinks.

“I’m not that bad!” Taeyong pouts.

Sicheng rolls his eyes, “You’re tipsy within like 10 minutes. It’s fine, Taeyong-hyung. Just own it.”

Taeyong takes a sip and looks suspiciously at Sicheng, “It doesn’t even taste like there’s any alcohol in here.”

“You won’t be saying that in a few minutes, hyung.”

Sicheng is right. By the time Ten finishes his makeup, Taeyong is giggling next to him, taking selfies.

He puts everything back in his bag and Taeyong leads him out of the bathroom to another room, “Before I forget, this is the spare bedroom, you can spend the night here, feel free to leave your backpack.”

After Ten drops his bag at the foot of the bed, Taeyong drags him back out to the living room where Taeyong immediately curls up onto Jaehyun on the couch.

“You get used to them,” Sicheng says, finishing his drink. “They’re actually really tolerable together, wait ‘til you meet Yuta and Doyoung. They’re actually the worst, especially when we go out.”

There’s a knock on the door before it opens and Ten assumes that one of the four guys is Johnny, just based on how tall he is. Taeyong hops up from the couch, playing host.

“Ten this is Johnny,” the tallest one smiles and waves, “Taeil,” a shorter guy, especially compared to Johnny but with an overwhelmingly friendly face, “Doyoung,” he nods and smiles politely, “And Yuta,” a blond who throws up a peace sign with a wide smile.

“Sicheng made drinks, they’re on the counter and Johnny you can play whatever you want, the aux cable is over there too.”

“Taeyong, are you collecting international students now?” Yuta teases.

“Obviously,” Taeyong replies, wrapping his arms around Ten, “Now! Be on your best behavior, he’s in me and Sicheng’s dance class and I wanna keep him.”

Ten laughs at how loosened up Taeyong already is, a lightweight indeed.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” Ten says.

A trap beat starts playing in the background, just loud enough where you can hear it clearly but not overwhelming.

Yuta sits next to him, “So, where are you from, Ten?”

“Thailand,” he replies. “Taeyong mentioned you’re Japanese?”

Conversation flows easily from there. Ten is surprised at just how welcoming Taeyong and Sicheng’s friends are but it makes sense, remembering how they were when he first met them as well.

\----

Ten is talking to Yuta, Taeyong, and Doyoung about anime when there’s another knock on the door. Only this time, instead of whoever it is just walking in like Johnny and Co. did, Sicheng gets up and opens the door.

“Ten come here,” Sicheng calls. He gets up and makes his way to the three of them.

“This is Yukhei or Xuxi and this is Kun.” He turns back to them, “This is Ten, he’s the Thai guy I told you guys about that’s in me and Taeyong’s dance class.”

Yukhei immediately hugs him, “Hi, Sicheng talks a lot about you! I’m so glad you’re coming out with us!”

Yukhei is tall and handsome. Ten’s first thought is that Taeyong was 100% right to call him an overgrown puppy. He’s a giant golden fucking retriever, warm and inviting. Ten isn’t sure if he should be annoyed by him or give him the attention he wants and protect him from everything bad.

Sicheng hits him, “Let go of him Xuxi, we’re not trying to scare him away yet.”

“I’m Kun, it’s nice to meet you,” a softer voice says.

When Ten really gets to look at Kun, his brain short circuits. He’s _hot._ His platinum blond hair is carefully styled and he’s wearing a black button down shirt that fits him perfectly. It’s been awhile since Ten has felt instantly attracted to someone. And when Kun smiles at him, he thinks if he was someone who swooned, he would right then and there.

“You too,” Ten replies, finally smiling back.

He’s glad he’s wearing foundation, beyond thankful for Rihanna keeping a small blush he feels heating up his face at bay.

Ten decides then that he’s going to not get beyond tipsy for the night. He’s curious about Kun, about how things could potentially play out with him. Sicheng goes to the kitchen to grab drinks with Kun and Yukhei while Ten heads back to the living room. They end up joining him, drinks in hand.

Yukhei is _loud_ , Ten learns immediately. He immediately talks to Ten like they’re old friends, talking about whatever comes to mind while Kun just watches, sipping his drink, amused. Ten can’t help but pay more attention to Kun. Everything about his demeanor says soft, in total contrast with Yukhei’s loud and large personality.

“Sicheng-ge is Jungwoo coming?” Yukhei asks.

Sicheng just shrugs, so Ten answers, remembering what Taeyong told him before, “I think Taeyong said he was out of town or something?”

Yukhei pouts, “Shit, I think I remember him mentioning that now. Damn.”

“It’s not like you do anything besides awkwardly stare at him anyway,” Kun says.

Sicheng laughs, “God, Xuxi you know you’re fucking up when even _Kun-ma_ is making fun of you.”

Yukhei just pouts and ends up chugging his drink. Ten watches in horror while Kun just sighs, finishing his drink too. “Here.” He gives his empty cup to Yukhei, “Get me another drink too.”

Sicheng gets up with him, “I’ll make yours Kun, Xuxi’s drinks always taste like light fuel and I need another drink,” he looks at Ten, “Are you good, do you want another drink?”

“Nah, I’m good for now.”

They walk away and Ten can hear them bickering.

“So,” Ten says, getting Kun’s attention, “How’d you end up meeting Sicheng?”

“Oh,” Kun says, almost surprised that Ten is actually talking to him, “It’s pretty boring but basically I was asked if I could help out a first year Chinese international student. Thankfully we actually liked each other. He barely knew any Korean so I was basically his translator for like two months, somehow Taeyong managed to befriend him and then he finally actually learned the language.”

“So Kun-ma?” Ten asks, teasing.

“Fuck I hate that nickname,” Kun laughs. And shit, Ten thinks, It’s a really fucking cute laugh.

Before Kun can elaborate, Sicheng and Yukhei come back with the drinks, and Yukhei begins asking Ten a bunch of questions about himself.

Ten can feel someone looking at him and when he turns, he sees Taeyong sitting on Jaehyun’s lap, looking straight at him, with a knowing smirk on his face. He looks at Kun and back to Ten, raising his eyebrows, _well?_

Ten shrugs and smiles, _we’ll see._

\----

When they leave the apartment they end up breaking up into little groups and Taeyong grabs a hold of Ten.

“So. Kun,” Taeyong says quietly, trying not to smile. Ten’s first thought is to just deny it but Jaehyun immediately disrupts that idea.

“He’s not gonna rest until he gets you to say it,” Jaehyun says, already amused at Taeyong's antics, “Just tell him.”

Ten gives in quicker than he expects, maybe he’s more tipsy than he thinks, “He’s really attractive. I wouldn’t mind… getting to know him, I guess. He was nice to talk to.”

Taeyong smiles widely and giggles, “Kun is so great! He’s so sweet and caring. Two of Mark’s friends are Chinese and whenever they’re homesick he’ll make them their favorite meals. They also go to his place for their cute little Chinese family dinners.”

Jaehyun nods, adding, “He also always volunteer to help take care of anyone who needs help getting home whenever we go out together. Him and Taeyong basically try to out-mom each other, it’s hilarious.”

“Cute,” Ten replies. It’s _really_ cute.

“He has a bunch of baby Chinese sons though, he automatically wins,” Taeyong says.

“Hyung,” Jaehyun replies, “You’ve made lunches for all of Mark’s friends to bring to school.”

“It’s not my fault they want to live off of ramen and cheeto dust or whatever, I’m keeping them alive. They don’t need fucking scurvy.”

“But,” Taeyong continues, “He hosts honest to God _family dinners,_ Jaehyun. I’m pretty sure Yangyang, Guanheng, and Chenle all call him mom.”

\----

When they get into the club they somehow manage to get a booth big enough for most of them while Johnny and Taeil go to the bar to get shots for all of them.

Jaehyun takes one before the rest of them do, turning two regular shots into half shots and passes those to Taeyong and to Ten’s surprise, Taeil, who thanks him with a sheepish grin.

They all cheers and take their shots, Ten wincing when he takes his.

Taeyong immediately drags Jaehyun to the dance floor followed by Sicheng, Yuta, and Doyoung. Ten stays back at the booth with Johnny, Taeil, Yukhei, and Kun. It’s early and there’s plenty of time to dance he rationalizes. It also helps that he ends up sitting next to Kun.

Yukhei is drunk enough that when he immediately launches into some story from work, he ends up telling it in a weird mix of Korean, English, Mandarin, and what Ten thinks must be Cantonese that somehow still makes sense.

“I’m surprised you didn’t go with them,” Kun says in Ten’s ear, looking out at the dance floor, his hand finding his way onto Ten’s thigh. Ten is… maybe a little flustered. But only for a second. It’s the alcohol, he convinces himself.

“I’ll join them in a bit. Maybe I’m just having a good time here with you, Kunkun,” Ten replies, the nickname slipping out. It’s too dark to really tell but he’s pretty sure that Kun is blushing.

\----

Eventually, Taeyong is dropped off at the table by Jaehyun, who grabs a surprised Yukhei who ends up dutifully following him back to the bar.

“Jaehyunnie went to get more shots!” Taeyong says to the table, cuddling up to Ten, “You have to come dance with us, Ten.”

Ten laughs, “After this shot then.”

Jaehyun comes back with 3 waters, pushing them towards Taeyong, Taeil, and Ten. “Drink up my cute little lightweights.”

Taeil frowns, “Be nice to your hyungs.”

Johnny, who’s mostly been sitting back in the booth pretending he’s not actually secretly vaping finds this hysterical, “Holy shit,” he says in English, “The three T’s are all lightweights!”

Ten laughs at that.

“Wait, do you speak English?” Ten nods and Johnny excitedly continues, “You need to come out with Jaehyun, Mark, and I. We have really dumb little coffee dates that we only speak English at. It’s fun, Mark is dumb, it’s amazing I love him. Actually we need to get Yukhei to come to one too.”

“Shot time, friends,” Yukhei says, voice booming with a huge dumb grin on his face, passing shots to everyone at the table.

Taeil passes on a shot since he’s actually been hitting Johnny’s vape this whole time, but Ten takes one, deciding that this would be his last of the night, trying to stay on the right side of tipsy. He can’t help his eyes drifting towards Kun, making eye contact with him before taking their shots.

The second Taeyong finishes his water and sees that Ten finished his too, he gets up and begins to pull Ten with him. “Ten, come on, let’s go!”

Kun grabs Ten’s arm before he fully gets up and leans in, “Have fun,” he says, smiling.

Ten winks, reveling in how easily he can get Kun flustered, and lets Taeyong lead him through the crowds of people dancing, Jaehyun following closely behind making sure they’re okay. Taeyong manages to lead them right to Sicheng, Yuta, and Doyoung.

“I brought Ten,” he yells over the music.

“Thank God,” Sicheng says, grabbing Ten away from Taeyong, “Yuta and Doyoung are super annoying.”

“How are they annoying?” Ten asks, but when he looks back at them he sees exactly what Sicheng means. They briefly acknowledge him with quick waves and but immediately go back to grinding in a way that is definitely not okay in public and making out in a way that feels like you’re invading their privacy if you look at all. Ten watches Doyoung’s hand slide under Yuta’s shirt.

“Oh. I get it.”

Sicheng laughs, “They suck. I think Doyoung does it on purpose to get back at us for making him leave his apartment.”

They leave Doyoung and Yuta to do whatever it is they’re doing, Sicheng mentioning that at some point they’ll just vanish to go home and have sex, and dance with Taeyong and Jaehyun who aren’t as bad Doyoung and Yuta, but are still pretty fucking bad, especially since Taeyong is such a clingy drunk. Dancing with Sicheng is fun though. They’re both drunk enough that it’s not awkward and the three of them are all making an effort to make sure Ten is enjoying himself.

After a few songs, Yukhei approaches them. He gets close behind them and leans in so they both can hear him clearly, “Can I steal Sichengie-ge?”

Sicheng laughs. “You big dumb idiot,” he replies, rolling his eyes, somehow fondly. He turns to Ten, “Now’s your chance Tennie, go get your man.”

He has no idea how Sicheng even knows but he’s right, he _should_ . He’s hot, confident, and maybe a little drunk. He knows he can get any boy he wants, and he wants _Kun._ He makes his way through the crowd, bopping along to the music. He smiles at Kun once he gets to the table, who doesn’t look all that surprised seeing him back there.

“Kunkun,” Ten whines, pouting in a way he hopes is cute, “Come dance with me.”

Kun nods but first, he grabs Taeil’s abandoned shot and Ten watches him take it. Kun just smirks at him. It’s fucking unfair, Ten thinks, just how _hot_ he found that. He immediately grabs Kun’s hand, lacing their fingers together, and pulls him out of the booth and into the crowd.

Ten tries not to think too hard about how he’s holding Kun’s hand and well they fit together when they find the rest of their friends.

Kun’s hands go to Ten’s hips, pulling him close. “You know, you’re like… infuriatingly hot.”

Ten’s hands trail up Kun’s chest, wrapping them around his neck and he smiles up at him, “Good thing you get to dance with me then, right?”

\----

Yuta and Doyoung disappeared like Sicheng said they would and when they head back to the booth, Taeil and Johnny are getting ready to leave.

“It’s really late,” Kun says, “And I have to make sure that Xuxi gets home alive, he has work in the morning like an idiot. You should give me your number though,” he glances at their hands, still intertwined, before adding shyly, “If you want.”

Ten smiles and nods, taking Kun’s phone and adding his contact info, saving himself as “Ten😇💗💖”

“You’re going with Taeyong and them right? Get home safe, Tenten.”

Ten nods, smiling at the nickname, “You better text me, Kunkun.”

The second Kun and Yukhei turn the corner, Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Sicheng are all staring at him with matching grins.

“What,” Ten asks, pouting. “He’s nice, okay?”

“I’m sure that’s all you were thinking when you were grinding up on him, Tennie,” Sicheng says.

Sicheng lives in the same building as Taeyong and Jaehyun so they walk back the entire way together.

\----

Ten ends up walking back next to Sicheng, Jaehyun and Taeyong walking slowly behind them, stopping every so often to make out.

“God it’s so fucking cold, what the fuck,” Sicheng says quietly in Mandarin, shivering slightly in the cool night. Ten figures he’ll find out he speaks Mandarin eventually, so it may as well happen now.

“I know, it sucks. I wish I had my jacket with me,” Ten says. His Mandarin is a little rusty but Sicheng smiles widely in surprise.

“What the fuck Ten, you speak Mandarin?!”

“Yeah, I learned it and English in school. I haven’t gotten to use it as much though so it’s not as good as my English.”

“Well,” Sicheng says excitedly, still smiling ear to ear, “It’s gonna get great now because we’re only speaking in Mandarin from now on when it’s just us. Especially when you meet any of the children. I’m not gonna tell any of them though, I love a good surprise.”

Sicheng then laughs, “Oh my god, Kun-ge is gonna propose to you the second he hears you speak it.”

\----

Ten follows Jaehyun and Taeyong off the elevator, saying a quick good night to Sicheng, who lives a few floors above them. When they get into Jaehyun and Taeyong’s apartment, Taeyong immediately goes into the kitchen, and grabs water and painkillers for each of them.

Jaehyun kisses Taeyong on the forehead and sits down on the couch, taking the painkiller and slowly drinking his water while Taeyong begins cleaning.

“Do you—” Ten starts before being interrupted by Jaehyun.

“Taeyong is nightmare when it comes to cleaning when he’s sober. He’s somehow worse drunk. Just sit and drink your water, Ten.”

Ten and Jaehyun end up watching part of _The Avengers_ together, talking about their favorite characters and Marvel movies until Taeyong declares the apartment adequately clean enough to go to bed and Ten finally feels sober enough to go to sleep and not worry about waking up with a killer hangover.

The three of them all end up in the bathroom together, Jaehyun just washing his face while Ten and Taeyong make their way through their own comprehensive night time routine, taking off their makeup. It’s stupidly domestic but Ten doesn’t feel like he’s intruding. it’s been nice, he thinks, feeling so welcomed into an established friend circle. He needed something like this, probably.

Taeyong gives Ten a huge hug while saying good night. “I’m so glad you came with us Ten, I hope you had fun.”

“I did,” Ten replies.

Taeyong smiles widely, his eyes shining bright, “That means you’re stuck with Sichengie and I.”

Ten laughs, “I could think of worse things. Good night, Taeyong, good night Jaehyun. Thanks again for letting me spend the night.”

\----

Ten settles into bed and finally looks at his phone. Taeyong sent him a bunch of selfies they took together and so did Sicheng. He’s also now in a group chat with everyone who went out tonight, that chat filled with a bunch of different photos taken throughout the night, including one of him and Kun laughing together. They’re cute together.

 

He also has messages from an unknown number, and he smiles to himself softly when he reads them.

_unknown_

This is Kun!  

_unknown_

I hope you got home safe!

He saves Kun’s number and replies.

 **Ten** 😇💗💖

I did, good night kunkun

 **Kunkun** 🌷🌸💗

good night tenten :)

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The _entire_ way to the club Sicheng and Yukhei were clowning Kun because his stupidly obvious immediate crush on Ten but promised to wingman him, because bros.
> 
>    
> [talk to me about wayv](http://www.twitter.com/fleur_cannon)


	2. your sun rises as well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I feel like I’m being courted or something,” Ten says, “Does that even make sense?”  
> Sicheng snorts, “You are being courted. Kun wants you to, and I cannot stress this enough, _like_ him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hm i ended up getting kind of ambitious with this considering my lack of writing experience so i'm hella nervous abt it, i really hope it worked out okay!  
> unbeta'd!

Ten wakes up relieved that he’s managed to evade a hangover. When he checks his phone, he sees it’s still way too early but now that he’s awake, he doesn’t think he can get back to sleep. He hears noise coming from the kitchen so drags himself out of bed, pulling on the sweatshirt he brought with him and heads out there.

Taeyong is making coffee in the kitchen, quietly singing along to the SHINee that Jaehyun is playing while he lays on the couch, nagging Taeyong for coffee, as if it’ll make it happen quicker. It’s disgustingly domestic, and he imagines that this is how every morning is for them. Ten was confused last night meeting Jaehyun but he sees why Taeyong would want to keep this to himself, likes he’s trying to protect it.

Taeyong finally hears him walk in and says a quick good morning while grabbing another mug from the cabinet for him, “You want coffee right?”

“Please,” Ten replies, “Way too early.”

Ten’s phone vibrates and when he checks it, he sees he has a text from Kun.

 

**Kunkun🌷🌸💗**

good morning :) I know it’s early but I was wondering if you wanted to maybe get coffee or something?

 

“Oh,” Ten says surprised. He assumed Kun message him, but he didn’t think he’d do it this soon. It’s unexpected but it makes his heart skip a beat, it’s gross.

When Taeyong looks at him inquisitively he adds, “Kun invited me out for coffee?”

Taeyong’s eyes widen in surprise before he continues what he was doing, pouring coffee in the mugs, and putting one on the table for Ten. “You’re saying yes, right? And do you need anything else? Sugar? Milk?”

“No, black is fine, thanks. And yeah, of course I am. I meant it when I said I wanted to get to know him.”

Ten takes a long sip of his coffee, already feeling slightly more awake. Bless bean juice and his dependence on it.

He asks Taeyong, “Can you tell me anything else about Kun?”

“Uh.” He thinks for a second, “I think we basically told you everything we really know about him? We really only see them when we get Sichengie to bring his friends with us. Otherwise I’ll run into Yukhei and some of the kids sometimes but that’s it, really.”

“Hm,” Ten responds pensively.

Taeyong just smiles brightly, “Guess you gotta find out for yourself.”

 

Ten takes his time finishing his coffee and finally texts Kun back.

 

**Ten😇💗💖**

i’d love to, just tell me when and where

  
  


\----

 

The place Kun picks is one he’s been to before. He heads to the back, where he sees Kun sitting at a table in the corner, with two iced drinks on the table. His hair is down and messy and he’s wearing a giant sweatshirt, nervously checking his phone.He looks  _ so _ cute. It’s annoying, Ten thinks, finally approaching him, how he’s somehow infinitely more attractive in the daylight.

“Hey,” Kun says smiling softly. “I got you an americano? I asked Sicheng what you usually get,” he adds sheepishly.

“That’s perfect,” Ten replies, sitting down. “Thank you, Kunkun.”

The nickname makes him blush and Ten is definitely going to have fun getting Kun all flustered.

 

They settle into a comfortable conversation, getting to know each other. They’re the same age, Kun only two months older. He also shyly admits that he’s a vocal major and Ten desperately wants to hear him sing now. Ten tells him about how much he loves dancing, how he chose to leave home for it despite his family’s reservations. It’s wild just how comfortable he feels talking to Kun. They begin to settle into a playful banter, teasing each other over their other interests, their tastes in music, everything.

They end up spending a couple of hours together, getting another round of coffee before finally noticing the time and Ten still has a shit ton of work to do so they make moves to leave.

Before they part ways, Ten grabs Kun’s hand, “We should do this again soon.”

Kun blushes and nods. “I’d like that, Ten.”

 

\----

 

Ten ends up spending a lot more time with Sicheng, Taeyong focusing on a solo performance for a Senior Showcase, so they end working on something together.

Ten is actually surprised at just how well they work together, considering how intense he is about choreography but Sicheng is equally as intense, intent on proving himself. He ends up bringing interesting ideas to their collaboration and because of the sheer amount of time they end up spending, they end up growing closer.

Sicheng also helps Ten with his Mandarin. They speak almost exclusively in it to each other when they’re alone and although it was ridiculously rough at first, Ten tripping over his words uncomfortably, he’s has been picking it back up quickly with his encouragement. Yukhei stops by a lot to hang out with them, and they decide right away not to tell him about the whole Mandarin thing, knowing he’ll definitely slip up and end up telling Kun.

Ten has noticed that the last few times Yukhei has come to their practice room that it’s become almost tense between him and Sicheng but they just carry on, trying to brute force it back to normal. They both keep overthinking things, making their greetings ridiculously awkward and they keep looking at each other when the other isn’t paying attention.

Ten just watches, desperately wanting to ask Sicheng about it. With anyone else he would have done so immediately but Sicheng always plays things close to his chest. For once he doesn’t want to overstep. Instead, he just hopes Sicheng will tell him when he’s ready to talk, if that happens.

 

\----

 

The coffee dates with Kun become a regular occurance. On one of them, Ten mentions how his days are getting super chaotic because of classes that he ends up skipping meals.

“Ten! You can’t be skipping meals, especially since you dance,” he scolds, sounding genuinely concerned.

Ten brushes it off, he doesn’t really think it’s that big of a deal, not really getting why Kun sounds so bothered by it. “I just hate cooking, especially for myself, I never time.”

“Well lucky for you I love cooking,” He replies. “I would cook for you anytime, Tenten,” he offhandedly adds, blushing.

“See, this is why you’re my favorite Kun.”

Kun smiles widely at that.

Kun begins bringing him lunches once or twice a week, cute little bento boxes filled with stupidly delicious food, always handed to him with a shy smile. Sometimes they even have little notes, wishing him luck on tests or when he’s particularly stressed encouraging words. Ten is a sentimental sap, and saves them all in a drawer in his desk.

His latest box just has a note that says “hope your day goes well!” with a tiny little heart drawn. Sicheng is sitting next to him, ends up reading it and laughs.

“I feel like I’m being courted or something,” Ten says, “Does that even make sense?”

Sicheng snorts, “You  _ are _ being courted. Kun wants you to, and I cannot stress this enough,  _ like _ him.”

“Well that’s stupid, I already do like him. He doesn’t have to do anything special because of that. Not that I mind all of this, it’s cute.”

After Ten says it, he realizes just how true it is, he  _ does _ like Kun and not just in some abstract crush way. He’s cute and maybe he wants to hold his hand and kiss him and have soft feelings together.

 

\----

 

Sincheng and Ten have finally had enough of trying to figure out part of their choreography that isn’t going the way they want so they call it early, deciding to get boba. When they walk out of the practice room, Kun is waiting for them, leaning against the wall looking at his phone.

“Hey Kun, what are doing here?” Sicheng asks.

Kun looks up and replies hushed in Mandarin,  _ “Wanted to ask if he wants to come to dinner on Friday, Xuxi got out of working that night so we can do it then.” _

_ “So just ask him? He’ll definitely say yes, stop being nervous.” _

_ “Shut up, I’m not nervous.” _

“Ten,” Kun starts, sounding nervous.

“Kunkun,” he sings in reply, stupidly amused at how cute and nervous Kun is being.

“Shh, I’m trying to ask you something! Are you free tomorrow?”

“For you, Kun,  _ always _ .” He’s only slightly exaggerating.

“Shut up,” Kun laughs, “Anyway, I’m making dinner tomorrow night-- ”

“Oh! Is this the Chinese expat family dinner?” Ten interjects excitedly. Sicheng and Kun will both talk about it after it happens and he’s been dying to crash it. Sicheng has been saying it’s a matter of time before Kun actually invites him, and it looks like he was right.

Kun sighs exaggeratedly, “You never stop talking. It is. I was wondering if you would like to come?”

Ten nods, “I’d love to! I can’t wait.” He can’t even bring himself to give Kun some stupid sarcastic answer because of how genuinely excited he is at finally being able to go.

Kun smiles widely at his response, and he looks almost fond. “Anyway, I gotta go find Yangyang but I’ll see you guys then, bye Sicheng, Ten.”

“You guys flirt so weird,” Sicheng comments once Kun is out of sight.

“He’s way too fun to tease,” Ten shrugs, smiling. “It’s cute how exasperated he gets.”

He really loves how their dynamic turned into this playful teasing kind of flirting. It’s fun, plus Kun constantly blushes.

“That is way too true. Shit now I’m excited for dinner. They’re fun anyway but this is going to be even better. I can’t wait for you to meet the children.”

Ten takes advantage of the opening and begins piling questions onto Sicheng, “How many are there anyway? What are they like? I need to know what to expect, Sichengie, you can’t send me in blind.”

“Xuxi, you know. Dejun is an angel most of the time. Guanheng is weird, especially when he’s with Yangyang which is nearly all the time. Yangyang and Chenle are legitimate Kun’s demon sons, and then Renjun is  _ my _ demon son,” he says with a fond smile once he mentions Renjun.

“Wait,” Ten says, actually processing what Sicheng said about Yangyang and Chenle, “What?”

  
  


\----

 

Kun invites Ten to come over early on Friday, before everyone else shows up. And really, why would Ten deny himself any chance to spend more time with Kun. When Kun opens the door Ten is surprised to see that his previously blond hair is now a light brown. It looks good.

“Kunkun your hair!” He exclaims while giving Kun a hug.

Kun shyly runs his hand through his hair, “Does it look okay? I felt like changing it.”

Ten answers honestly, “It looks amazing, you look great.”

 

Kun smiles and then ushers him inside, and Ten gets a chance to finally take a good look at his apartment. Kun’s apartment is nice, it’s small and cozy and it feels so  _ Kun _ . There are books all over, filling a bookshelf, and stuffed into any free space. They head into the living room and hang out for a while. Kun mentions how they usually do dinners on the weekends but had to move it because everyone else had a ton to do. After a bit, they head into the kitchen so Kun can start cooking.

Ten sits at the counter and watches Kun move around the kitchen like it’s second nature to him. He gives his laptop to Ten, letting him have free reign of the music. Kun sings along to some of what Ten ends up playing, his voice is soft and sweet and Ten feels comforted by it. He could probably fall asleep to it, it’s that soothing.

Anytime Ten tries to offer to help Kun cook, he immediately cuts him off, refusing, telling him that he’s a guest and he shouldn’t have to do anything. He instead takes that as an invitation to comment on every little thing Kun does, telling him he’s cutting the vegetables unevenly or that looks cute in his little apron.

A flustered Kun is truly his favorite Kun.

Yukhei ends up showing up first.

He immediately he goes to Ten, smiling happily and lifting him up in a big hug before doing the same thing to Kun.

“I am so glad to not be at work right now,” he says happily, sitting next to Ten. “I got Yuta to cover my shift. I have to open tomorrow which sucks but I can always nap after or something.”

Shortly after Sicheng arrives.

He says hi to them all and heads towards the counter. He pauses for a second looking at Yukhei before smiling awkwardly and pushing him out of the stool he was sitting in next to Ten, taking his spot. The three of them talk for a bit, the conversation staying pretty light, mostly just rehashing of their weeks. Ten notices that Yukhei keeps looking over at Sicheng whenever he’s not paying attention.

“The rest of the kids should be showing up soon right, Kun?” Sicheng asks.

“Yeah, I think Dejun is on his way now. Renjun and Chenle get out of class any minute now so they’ll be here soon. And Yangyang and Guanheng will end up here whenever I guess? I don’t know what they’re doing most of the time. They are... concerning but oh well.” Kun shoots a smile at Ten, making him blush, and gets back to cooking.

There’s a knock on the door and Kun immediately says, “Xuxi, door duty,” not even looking up from the vegetables he’s chopping.

Yukhei opens the door and gives the guy a massive hug, in typical Yukhei fashion. When he pulls away and Ten gets a decent look at who it is, he can’t help his reaction. Wow. Holy eyebrows.

He greets Kun and Sicheng and when he makes eye contact with Ten he says, “Hey, I’m Dejun. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Ten,” He replies. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Dejun smiles and sits at the table with Yukhei, Ten overhearing the two of them talk about a class they share. Sicheng is tense next to him, so Ten taps his arm and distracts him, asking him if he caught up on Jojo yet. It works and he relaxes, but Ten is beginning to get more and more worried.

There’s another knock on the door and Yukhei runs and gets it. He greets two boys, one has mint green hair and an alarmingly squishy adorable face, the other has blond hair and they’re both immediately loud.

“Blond is Renjun and green is Chenle,” Sicheng says, reading Ten’s mind.

He then gets up and hugs them both, pinching Chenle’s cheeks. Sicheng is so different with them, he notices right away. He’s warmer and way less guarded, especially with Renjun. This must be what he meant when he called Renjun his demon son.

Chenle yells out “Kun-ma” and barrels towards Kun, making him stumble back.

“Chenle,” he says fondly, before tacking on, “Don’t call me that you terror.”

Kun looks at Ten, smiling and says, “Tenten this is Chenle my demon son, the other one is Renjun.”

“Hey it’s nice to meet you, Kun-ma and Sicheng-ge talk about you a lot.” Chenle says kindly. He suddenly gets shy, adding, “Sorry my Korean still sucks.”

“No worries,” Ten says.

He wonders when he should mention that they could all just speak Mandarin.

He could mention it now, but he feels like there’s going to be the absolute perfect moment for it at some point tonight, so he just bites his tongue.

Yangyang and Kunhang show up together.

Ten isn’t sure which is which but then one of them immediately yells “Kun-ma” and charges at Kun, hugging him tightly, the same exact way that Chenle did.

That must be Yangyang.

The other one heads over to the rest of them and introduces himself to Ten. “Hi I’m Guanheng, you must be Ten!”

Ten immediately loves him and is already mentally filing adoption papers. He’s adorable and he’s going to raise him with love and affection.

“Tennie,” Kun calls out getting his attention, “This is my other demon nightmare son, Yangyang.”

Yangyang looks at Ten, appraising. Ten just raises his eyebrow at him as Yangyang turns to Kun, tilting his head and asking in Mandarin, “ _ Is he my new mom? _ ”

Everyone laughs at that, but more importantly, Ten bursts out laughing, immediately getting everyone’s attention. He cannot believe that a moment like this presented itself on a silver platter, even if he accidentally slipped up.

“Oh,” he says pretending to act surprised, “Did I not mention that I know Mandarin?”

He smiling widely at Kun who is blushing like crazy, jaw dropped.

Yangyang smiles widely and reaches out, closing Kun’s mouth. Kun hides his face in his hands embarrassed and it makes Ten smile. So cute and flustered. After that, the conversation switches completely to Mandarin.

He’s then accosted by Kunhang who launches into a million different questions about dancing and choreography. He mentions how him, Yukhei, and Yangyang will mess around in a practice room every so often but Sicheng won’t ever help them out, especially when they’re trying to choreograph something.

“He says we’re nightmares, which to be honest is a fair assessment but mostly I think he hates that Xuxi and Yangyang are always yelling.”

“I can help you guys out if you want,” Ten says. It could be fun to watch, especially if they’re this energetic when they’re trying to dance.

“Really?”

“Yeah, why not it sounds fun.”

Kunhang looks beyond thrilled and Ten almost regrets agreeing.

Chenle and Yangyang set the table while Kunhang gets drinks for everyone. It’s really cute how seamless it all is and how everyone seems to know exactly what to do and when. Ten ends up sitting next to Kun and Sicheng and the rest of them all sit and begin serving themselves.

The only time the table is ever close to quiet is when everyone is shoving food in their mouths. Renjun and Chenle bicker like actual siblings, arguing over who gets the last bit of food. Ten thought that was everyone was just exaggerating when they called it a family dinner but it really is. It’s amazing how well they all mesh, how serious Kun takes caring for them, how easily and welcoming they’ve been towards him.

The food is ridiculously delicious. Ten knows that Kun likes cooking and has eaten a lot of meals from him because of the lunches he gives him but eating a real home-cooked dinner that Kun has painstakingly cooked is an entirely different story.

When they all finish eating, Ten insists that Kun lets him at least help out with doing the dishes, which he ends up doing with him while the rest of them hang out in the living room.

“So,” Kun says, “What did you think?”

It’s kind of surreal knowing that this is the first time they’re talking to each other in Mandarin. There’s something he really loves about how Kun’s voice sounds in Mandarin, he just wants him to keep talking, it sounds so nice. Then again, he pretty much likes everything about Kun at this point, it’s almost alarming.

“About what, Kunnie?” He asks.

“Dinner,” Kun hesitates before adding softly, “My friends. Everything I guess?”

“Dinner was amazing. I already thought your cooking was great but this was like, ridiculously amazing. You really need to cook for me all the time now, Kunkun. Everything else was really great too. I like all of the children you managed to collect, especially your demon sons, they’re cute. I like how they torture you and you just let that happen.” He pauses before asking, “Can I adopt Guanheng?”

Kun laughs, “That sounds like a nightmare, I can’t imagine the horrible influence you’ll have on him.”

“I would be an excellent parent to him, how dare you. I’m also apparently babysitting them when they want to dance?”

“Hm. One time I went to check on them after Sicheng told me he couldn’t deal with them and when I looked through the door they were all just standing there facing me flossing with some trap song blasting, as if they knew I was about to show up. It was horrifying. They’re nightmares, I hope you have fun with that.”

“So,” Ten asks, drying the last of the dishes, “How’d you end up with the demon sons?”

Kun looks exasperatedly fond just thinking about it.

“Chenle’s adorable, like an angel, have you looked at him? And his Korean was so bad when he got here that I just wanted to protect him and make sure that he didn’t get lost or die or something. After I began to get to know him it  turned out he was a little devil child but it was too late by then and I wanted to keep him anyway. With Yangyang I knew he was a demon child right away, he just gives off that vibe? He didn’t have any issues with Korean or anything but I think he was having issues adjusting to everything and I kind of just stepped in a lot. But I don’t know, ultimately I couldn’t really help it,” he laughs and shrugs, “I just like taking care of people I guess.”

Ten is hit in the face with a stupid amount of feelings. Kun is so good and so unbelievably sweet. He can’t believe that he really gets to spend time with him, and that it seems like Kun genuinely likes being around him. His feelings for Kun have just been growing and now he wonders if he can even still continue to ignore how much he actually likes him.

He’s unbelievably hot, but now, after a few weeks of getting to know him, he knows just how good he is. It’s horrifying just how much this crush that he’s been pretty much ignoring has grown into something more. He really would rather ignore that. 

Dejun, Kunhang, Renjun, and Chenle all leave together to head back to their dorms leaving only Ten, Sicheng, and Yukhei at Kun’s. Their phones all vibrate at the same time with messages from their giant group chat that Taeyong added him to after the first time they went out. t’s Jaehyun, surprisingly, telling everyone that a friend of his and Johnny’s is having a party at his place and that everyone’s invited.

Ten smiles, it’s been a bit since they’ve really gone out. “So friends, are we going?”

Yukhei answers first, “Definitely, my shift is over at 8, I’ll just have to swing by my place and then I’ll head to Taeyong’s.”

Sicheng groans, “You always make me go out Tennie. When do I ever get to rest?”

“Shut up, you always have fun with me. Kunkun you’ll go with us, right?”

Kun smiles brightly and looks right at Ten, “Yeah, someone has to make sure you get home safe.”

“You just wanna spend more time with me Kunkun, don’t lie,” he teases.

“God,” Sicheng comments, “So weird.”

Kun looks confused and pouts. Ten just rolls his eyes.

 

\----

  
  


They pre-game at Taeyong and Jaehyun’s like usual. This time Ten doesn’t plan on spending the night so he ends up arriving around when everyone else is getting there. Johnny and Sicheng are already there, already drinking.

After a bit, three guys show up and Ten finally gets to meet Jungwoo, Mark, and Donghyuk. He can see why Yukhei has a crush on Jungwoo, he’s cute and funny, but not nearly as hysterical as Mark and Donghyuk bickering every few minutes. Donghyuck just dragging Mark, yawning whenever he makes a dumb comment. It’s cute.

Yukhei and Kun show up together, When Yukhei sees Jungwoo, he looks like a deer in headlights, eyes wide and jaw slightly ajar.

Kun just pushes him insides. “Sorry we’re late, Yukhei took ages,” Kun says.

Ten wants to die, Kun looks so good.

He’s just wearing a BAPE t-shirt with a black denim jacket but his hair is pushed to the side, making him look effortlessly hot. Ten is  _ parched _ and finishes his drink.

He gets up and heads to the kitchen to get another drink. He bumps into Johnny who’s also getting another and they begin talking. Johnny is really funny, he discovers.

He kind of got that feeling that he’s just that kind of person when they first met but listening to him crack jokes about Mark confirms it. He ends up sitting with Johnny and Mark, chatting in English until they leave.

He ends up walking with Johnny behind everyone on the way to the house. When they get to the front door Johnny heads back up with Jaehyun and he knocks on the door. A guy greets him, he assumes it’s the guy who’s throwing the party and he ushers them all inside.

It’s crowded, music bumping and lights almost nonexistent and he manages to lose Sicheng, Kun, and Yukhei right away even though they were just in front of him. He sees Johnny easily though, thankful for his freakish height, with a joint that’s appeared out of nowhere tucked behind his ear. Ten manages to get to him, pushing through the crowd.

“Shots,” Johnny says loudly the second Ten reaches him.

He puts his arm around Ten so he doesn’t lose him. “It’s shot time, Tennie.”

They make their way to the kitchen, where the counter is full of various types of liquors, mixers, and a bright red punch that Johnny eyes excitedly. “Nevermind about shots,” he says.

Johnny grabs a cup and fills it halfway with punch handing it to Ten, “This shit is crazy strong, don’t drink more than this you tiny little lightweight,” he says, grabbing another cup and filling it nearly to the brim for himself.

They walk through the house looking for their friends. They’ve definitely lost Jaehyun and Taeyong to the crowd, but they end up finding Yukhei.

“Hey Ten, have you seen Jungwoo? I lost him.”

“Nope, we lost everyone too.”

“I was with Sicheng and Kun for a bit but they went out back i think?” Yukhei then switches to Mandarin for some semblance of privacy even though it’s so loud that it probably doesn’t matter anyway, whispering, “ _ Kun seemed upset? I... don’t know what happened but Sicheng took him out there to talk. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind talking to you, Ten. _ ”

Ten nods, and grabs onto Johnny, tugging until he bends down so Ten can whisper in his ear. “I’m gonna look for Kun.”

Johnny nods and salutes.

Ten begins making his way through the house. He’s only halfway through his drink but Johnny was right, it’s ridiculously strong, and he’s feeling it. He finally finds the back door and heads outside. He sees Kun’s blond hair but when he begins to walk towards them he stops, staying against the house when he overhears Kun and Sicheng talking.

“He’s cute and funny and talented. I wanna be around him all the time. And he fucking speaks Mandarin? I was ready to get down on one knee and propose then and there.”

Sicheng bursts out laughing, replying, “That’s exactly what I told him you would do when you found out.”

“You  _ knew? _ Why didn’t you warn me!”

“I like messing with you as much as everyone else, Kun-ge, it brings me joy.”

“God you’re all so mean to me.” Ten watches Kun take a long sip of his drink. “I don’t think he likes me like that. He could get anyone he wants, so I really don’t get why he would want me. Did you see him with Johnny? They looked… good together, you know?”

“Kunnie,” Sicheng says softly, “Don’t be like that, that’s not like you. And for the record, I think he does like you. Not Johnny or anyone else he talks to. I think you just need to talk to him.” He pauses for a second before adding, “It’ll probably work out better for you at least.”

Kun stays quiet for a while, before grabbing his drink again and finishing it. “Xuxi is an idiot. I… am not drunk enough for this,” he says sounding sad.

They’re quiet after that, Sicheng sipping on his drink.

He walks away then, mad at himself for intruding for so long but it gives Ten a chance to actually process what he heard. He shouldn’t have heard any of that,  _ listened _ to any of it. Shit though. That explains a lot about why Yukhei and Sicheng have been weird.

Ten hates that.

He also hates that he heard Kun say all of that. But at the same time, he’s glad he did. Perspective, or something. He really hates that Kun sounded so defeated. He hates that it’s because of him. He needs to fix that.

He finishes the rest of his drink, pulls out his phone, and texts Kun.

 

**Ten😇💗💖**

Kunkun

Where are you

I can’t find you anywhere :(

 

**Kunkun🌷🌸💗**

I’m in the backyard with Sicheng, are you okay?

Do you need me to come get you?

 

**Ten😇💗💖**

no it’s okay

i’m coming

be there soon!!!

 

Ten waits a minute or two, scrolling through twitter making it seem like he actually had to walk through the house and not like he was just hiding by the door before finally heading back out into the yard.

 

“Kun?” Ten says, voice sounding hesitant in a way he’s not used to.

Kun walks over to him, Ten noticing his lips are an appealing shade of red, slightly stained from the punch he must have been drinking, “Tennie, you okay?”

Ten nods and wraps his arms around Kun’s waist, hugging him tightly, resting his forehead on Kun’s shoulder. Kun lets out a quiet “Oh,” surprised at the sudden amount of contact, especially so affectionately.

Ten may have fun messing around with Kun and doing their usual banter-y type flirting but now he just wants Kun to  _ know _ .

Sicheng walks over to them and Ten pulls away instead slipping his hand into Kun’s.

“Wanna head back inside? Jaehyun said there’s a DJ now and it’s  _ pretty lit _ according to him,” Sicheng asks.

“Yeah,” Ten replies excitedly, “That should be fun.”

Sicheng leads the way back into the house. Everyone inside is dancing now and Sicheng leads them through the crowd. Kun quickly squeezes Ten’s hand before letting go and positions Ten in front of him, putting his hands on his waist so he doesn’t lose him. It’s cute, and he really hopes that Kun keeps acting like this. Sicheng stops when they find Jaehyun and Taeyong.

Ten is relieved when Kun’s hands stay on him, and wraps his arms snugly around him, pulling him close. He rests his own hands on top of Kun’s arms.

Taeyong is  _ drunk _ . His face is bright and he’s flailing around, Jaehyun holding onto him tightly and keeping him upright. When he notices that they’ve all showed up he excitedly yells out at them to start dancing. They listen. Ten drapes his arms around Sicheng’s neck, pulling him closer. Kun’s hands slip under Ten’s shirt resting gently but possessively on his waist. He knows Kun is only being this uninhibited because he’s had more to drink than usual but he really,  _ really _ likes this side of him.

Sicheng leans in close so Kun won’t hear, whispering melodically in Ten’s ear, “You’re blushing, Tennie.”

“Eat shit, Sichengie.”

Sicheng laughs and slips away, turning towards Taeyong and Jaehyun. Ten turns around to face Kun, who smiles widely at him. Ten wants to kiss him, like a stupid amount. He probably could kiss him, judging by how Kun’s eyes keep darting down to lips and how his grip on his waist tightens.

But as dumb as it sounds, he doesn’t want their first kiss to be at some random house party, drunk as shit, surrounded by mostly strangers. It’s not even that he would mind, really. But Kun.

Kun deserves better.

 

Jaehyun eventually tells them that he’s gonna have to get Taeyong home soon, so they begin collecting everyone up. They find Mark and Donghyuck coming out of the bathroom, Donghyuck looking way too proud of himself and Mark bright red, hickeys marking his neck, looking embarrassed.

Jaehyun laughs, “Come on lovebirds we’re leaving,” before leading them through more of the house, looking for Yukhei and Jungwoo.

They find them in a quieter part of the house sitting next to each other talking, Yukhei gesticulating wildly and Jungwoo listening attentively.

Sicheng speaks up then sounding almost uncertain, “Xuxi, we’re heading out, are you coming?”

It’s so weird seeing Sicheng like this. He wonders if he should talk to him about it, admit that he overheard them talk. Jungwoo looks confused but then Jaehyun repeats what Sicheng had said, only in Korean and he nods and gets up.

To Ten’s surprise, Jungwoo goes with Mark and Donghyuck, immediately beginning to tease Mark and Yukhei tentatively takes his place next to Sicheng and they all finally make their out of the house.

Kun grabs Ten’s hand and asks, “Are you going home with Taeyong and Jaehyun?”

“No,” Ten answers, “I was just gonna head back to mine.”

Kun hesitates before asking softly, “Come home with me?”

Ten is surprised, and when he’s about to answer Kun adds, “I’d be worried about you getting home by yourself.”

“Lead the way, Kunkun.”

 

\----

 

About halfway back they all split up. Mark, Donghyuck, and Jungwoo leave first, followed 10 minutes later by Taeyong, Jaehyun, Sicheng, and to Ten’s surprise, Yukhei.

From that point on it’s not too far of a walk to Kun’s and the fact that Ten is still pretty drunk makes it pleasant, especially since they end up holding hands the whole way back. It almost feels like they’re a real couple and Ten finds himself desperately wanting that.

He’ll talk to him in the morning.

When Kun opens the door and turns on the light, they see Yangyang on the couch, asleep.

Kun immediately turns the light back off, pouts and says quietly, sounding annoyed, “Of course he ends up here tonight,” before sighing.

He grabs Ten’s hand again, guiding him into the kitchen to one of the stools.

Ten sits at the counter while Kun grabs a glass and fills it water, passing it to Ten.

“Do you need anything babe?” Kun asks, not even noticing the pet name while he grabs another glass for himself.

Ten blushes. “Just a painkiller would be great.”

Kun nods, heading out of the kitchen.

After a few minutes, he comes back, already in sweatpants, painkillers and a blanket in hand. “Here,” he says, handing the bottle to Ten, “I left a spare toothbrush on the counter and clothes for you. You can use whatever you want in the bathroom.”

“Thanks Kun.”

Kun then heads into the living and Ten watches him drape the blanket over Yangyang’s sleeping body. He also grabs his bag, going through it until he pulls out a charger and plugs in Yangyang’s phone. Ten is constantly surprised by just how caring Kun actually is.

He knows that Kun is decently drunk, judging just by how he couldn’t walk that straight on the way home and how it took him a few seconds to remember the code for his apartment. But the fact that he’s still going out of his way to make sure Yangyang is comfortable is so fucking cute.

Ten finishes his water and gets up, heading to the bathroom. By the time he washes his face, brushes his teeth and changes into Kun’s clothes he feels slightly less drunk.

He’s in one of Kun’s old BAPE shirts, soft and faded. It’s big on him and Ten never wants to give it back.

Ten heads back out, Kun still in the kitchen leaning against the fridge looking at phone.

“Kunkun,” he says quietly, causing Kun to look up.

Ten hugs him tightly, “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“Of course. Come on, let’s go to bed.”

It’s a little awkward at first, but Ten refuses to let it stay that way so he cuddles Kun instead of leaving an awkward space between them. It’s the right move, Kun pulling him in closer, just like he always does.

“Kunnie, you’re so comfortable I’m never leaving.”

Kun laughs, “Good, don’t.”

Ten wakes up with his head resting on Kun’s chest and Kun running his hand through his hair. It’s easily the best way he’s ever woken up.

“Kun,” he says drowsily, smiling softly.

“Tenten,” he replies, voice so soft, “How are you so cute in the morning?”

“I’m  _ always _ cute.”

“So annoying,” Kun says fondly.

“Coffee please?”

“Ugh,” he whines, “Come on, let’s get up then.”

They get out bed and head back to the kitchen, arms brushing as they walk. Once they get closer to the kitchen they can hear the TV.

Kun quietly groans, “Forgot about Yangyang, to be honest.”

“Does he spend the night a lot?”

“Not too often, he usually goes to Xuxi’s since he has a spare room.”

 

Yangyang is sitting on the couch, joycons in hand and blanket on his lap, playing Breath of the Wild.

“Hey Kun-ma, you got home super late,” he says not even bothering to look away from the TV yet. “Where’d you go? Also make me coffee?”

He looks up and seems surprised to see both of them there. “Oh, hey Ten-almost-ma.”

Kun chokes. “Uh. Yeah, I’ll make you both coffee.”

Ten sits next to Yangyang on the couch, watching him play. He loves Yangyang but he really wishes he ended up staying at Xuxi’s. He doesn’t know why the idea of actually talking to Kun is beginning to scare him so much, but any confidence he had to do it is slowly diminishing.

Another day, he decides.

“So,” Yangyang starts, “Where were you guys?”

“House party,” Ten answers, “With Sicheng, Xuxi, and a few others.”

Yangyang nods, “You know, this is the most I’ve seen Kun go out? He… really likes you.”

Ten looks towards the kitchen and sees that Kun is still in there waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.

“Yeah?” He replies, “It’s mutual.”

  
  


\----

 

Things change after that, at least sort of. The next few days right after the party, Ten and Kun are still flirting in their usual weird teasing way but they’re also infinitely more affectionate with each other. Ten hasn't asked Sicheng about his whole Yukhei situation yet, hasn't mentioned what he overheard at the party. He still doesn't talk to Kun about his feelings either, still unsure why he feels so uneasy about. 

He finally ends up talking to Sicheng about it, after their class ends on Thursday and Taeyong has already left, having to run out to meet Yuta for something for one of their classes.

“I don’t know why I can’t talk bring myself to talk to Kun about this whole feelings thing?” Ten vents. It’s frustrating and he’s so sick of getting in his own way.

“Did anything happen between you guys after the party?”

“No, Yangyang was there when we got back. But I don’t think anything would have happened anyway, we were both pretty drunk. And I didn’t want anything to happen like that anyway? I don’t want him to regret it or think that I was only doing it ‘cause I was drunk or something.”

Sicheng stays quiet for a minute, thinking.

“Ten,” he finally says, “Tennie. My bro, my sweet sweet dumb bro. You’re in  _ so  _ deep and I don’t think you actually realize how deep in you really are.”

Ten pouts, “What do you mean?”

“You like Kun right?” When Ten nods in agreement Sicheng continues, “Have you ever thought about just how much you like him? And how that could be the reason why you’re being an idiot, and why you’re so worried about talking to him?”

Sicheng is… right. 

“Oh,” Ten says. “Oh  _ fuck. _ ”

He feels like an idiot. It makes so much sense. Like, no shit he likes Kun, he’s been aware of that but that his feelings are actually this serious is a stupidly delayed realization.

Sicheng laughs, “You’re so dumb.”

He suddenly gets serious, “I uh,” he stutters out. “I told Xuxi that I have… feelings for him? That’s why it’s been weird.”

“What happened?”

“He was very… Xuxi about it. He said it’s something he never considered and he wasn’t rejecting me or whatever and but just needed some time to think about it.”

“That does sound very Xuxi,” Ten replies. “Has anything changed?”

Sicheng shrugs. “I think so? Obviously it’s still awkward but he’s been reaching out more. He was pretty drunk on Saturday but on the way home he insisted that he doesn’t like Jungwoo. I dunno, I’m just gonna let it play out. But that’s beside the point, just because my love life is a low-key hellscape doesn’t mean yours will also be. You won’t know if you don’t try. Ten.  _ Talk. To. Him. _ ”

“I’m scared,” Ten finally admits. He hates being a panicked gay, he’s  _ never  _ a panicked gay.

“Yeah, I don’t blame you.” Sicheng grabs his hand and laces their fingers, instantly calming him. “But Ten, it’s just Kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of feelings about Sicheng  
> one more chapter to go after this!  
> [talk to me about wayv <3 ](http://www.twitter.com/fleur_cannon)


	3. under the same sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten sighs. “Obviously. And I’m… working on it. The Kun thing.”  
> “Right, of course you are,” Yukhei says, sounding sarcastic and kind of judgey, which well… fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbeta'd.

Ten and Sicheng end up staying late a lot. It helps Ten clear his head and navigate his thoughts and feelings about Kun in a way that feels productive to him. He keeps thinking about what Sicheng said to him, about how it’s just Kun and how he’s basically just overthinking everything. He can tell it’s helping Sicheng too, noticing how he seems less weighed down. It seems like ever since they talked, Sicheng can breathe easier. Ten can’t imagine how much relief he felt after getting everything off his chest. He also notices that Sicheng will sneak glances at his phone, smiling softly before typing.

Ten wonders if his shift in demeanor has anything to do with Yukhei.

 They begin to cool down, finally hitting a wall where exhaustion begins creeping into their bones, and finally pack up their stuff to leave when Yukhei, Yangyang and Kunhang show up, with matching expressions of mischief on their faces. They end up cornering Ten and Sicheng in the practice room, refusing to let them walk out, demanding to be helped.

 “It’s actually babysitting,” Sicheng mumbles, putting his bag back down and fighting off a smile. “Hope you’re ready for whatever they decide to do today. It’s probably weird, or at least it ends up being weird. I hope Kun-ge shows up and they scare him off again.”

 It turns out that the three of them are as fun and chaotic as Ten thought and hoped they would be. Yangyang will play random songs, half of which end up being trap music, and they all just fall into weird routines that they somehow make cohesive before someone else puts on something different and they’re onto the next thing. They also go from taking it super serious, figuring out exact moves and counts to suddenly doing the shoot.

He loves them.

It’s also the first time seeing them all dance so he can tell they’re trying to impress him, especially Kunhang. It’s cute and wildly endearing. And he’s definitely impressed. It makes him want to join in, which he ends up doing. It’s fun goofing off, joining them in their weird routines. Maybe he needs to babysit more.

 Ten also gets to watch Sicheng and Yukhei interact, and to his relief things seem less awkward, and surprisingly, much more flirty. If it’s anything like how him and Kun look to someone watching, it’s no wonder why Sicheng has wanted to kill him for dragging it out way too long.

 Yukhei sits next to Ten while they’re taking a water break. “Hey Ten,” Yukhei starts, “Are you busy after we finish up here?”

“Nah, was just gonna head home, why?”

“Cool. Uh, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something?”

It’s weird seeing Yukhei be this nervous. Whatever he wants to talk about must be important. It’s probably about Sicheng. “Sure,” Ten replies, “We can go to the coffee shop down the street.”

“Great,” Yukhei says, sounding relieved.

 When they’re finally done and packing up their stuff, Yukhei immediately walks over to Ten, patiently waiting for Ten to finish up. Sicheng raises his eyebrow at Ten from across the room, questioning, and he hopes that whatever he’s doing with his face says _I don’t know but I’ll talk to you later, please for the love of God distract the children._ Luckily Sicheng understands, or at least he thinks he does. He grabs Kunhang and Yangyang, pulling them towards the door, leaving with them, not letting them even think to try to tag along with Ten and Yukhei.

The walk to the coffee shop is… well weird. Yukhei is giving off a huge amount of anxiety, which is really out of the ordinary. He’s having one of those moments where he really gets why Kun babies them all so much. He just wants to take care of him and help him through whatever is troubling him so much.

“Xuxi what do you want? I’ll grab us drinks, go sit down.”

“An iced mocha?” He says, eyes wide like a puppy, “Please.”

Ten rolls his eyes, “Go sit.”

Yukhei is so lucky Sicheng likes him, Ten thinks as he orders his iced americano and Yukhei’s stupid overpriced iced mocha.

After a few minutes of silence, Yukhei sipping at his drink and occasionally opening his mouth to talk before cutting himself off, he finally starts to talk.

“Did Sicheng,” he starts, immediately pouting, “Did he tell you that he likes me?”

“He told me that he confessed and that that was why it’s been kinda weird between you guys. You know how Sicheng is.”

Yukhei laughs,“I’m sure he only told you because he was trying to make a point about you and Kun, right?”

The thing about Yukhei is that he’s observant. He’s an idiot, but he’s also about a million times smarter than all of them. He’s good at reading people and situations, especially when it comes to his friends.

Ten sighs. “Obviously. And I’m… working on it. The Kun thing.”

“Right, of course you are,” Yukhei says, sounding sarcastic and kind of judgey, which well… _fair_ . But he rolls on, “So, Sicheng confessed to me, basically accidentally? And like obviously I was flattered. I mean, it’s _Sicheng._ But I never really like thought about him that way so I told him that. And now after thinking about it and paying attention to how we are together I think I feel the same way?”

Yukhei takes another sip of his drink and continues.

“I mean, I do feel the same way. I just don’t know how to tell him. Especially because I don’t want him to think it’s because I’m not trying to hurt him or something when I just genuinely like him and needed some time to get to that realization.”

Ten’s jaw maybe drops. Mostly because he’s shocked at just how emotionally intelligent or whatever Yukhei is being. He’s only just now coming to terms with just how strongly he  feels about Kun yet here is Yukhei able to work out all of this in such a short period of time. Unbelievable.

“Xuxi,” Ten says, “I think you just have to tell him that. Like it’s just that easy.”

When that leaves his mouth Ten realizes just how right it is. It _is_ just that easy. Sicheng was right when he said it’s just Kun. It _is_ just Kun and he’s been putting off what is probably a sure thing for absolutely no reason at this point. He’s an idiot. He’s a total fucking idiot and Yukhei and Sicheng are gonna figure out their shit before he and Kun do. How annoying.

Yukhei smiles brightly. “I think you’re right. I’ll talk to him Saturday or something, don’t make plans with him. Maybe,” Yukhei then smirks, “Maybe you can talk to Kun-ge then too!”

He hates how right Yukhei is.

“Fine, I’ll talk to Kun and you’ll talk to Sicheng, deal?”

\---- 

Ten somehow manages to forget that Yukhei was planning on talking to Sicheng on Saturday. Instead he’s curled up on his couch, sheet mask on, looking for a subbed version of an anime Yuta recommended when Yukhei messages him.

 

 **Yukhei** 🐶🤪

I'm heading to Sicheng's now!

Don’t forget your part of the deal Tennie :)

 

Ten sighs. Shit. He probably should have asked Kun earlier if he was free. He’s pretty sure he is since he hasn’t mentioned anything though. Shit.

 

 **ten** 😇💗💖

Kunkuuuuun

Are you busy tonight?

 **kunkun** 🌷🌸💗

Nope!

why whats up

 **ten** 😇💗💖

Cool

I’ll be there in a bit

Set your table for us, I’m bringing thai food

Be there soon <3

 **kunkun** 🌷🌸💗

okay!!!

:) <3

 

Ten bolts to the bathroom to freshen up and then changes into something more appropriate, trading in his pajamas for his favorite pair of jeans and one of his oversized sweaters that makes him look small and cute. He maybe also tosses his contact case and glasses in backpack. Just in case, he thinks. He heads out to a small Thai place he goes to whenever he’s homesick. He’s never told anyone about this place, it’s something he keeps to himself. He doesnt mind sharing it with Kun though. He ends up with more food than necessary for only two people, but the Thai family that owns it always spoils him.

He spends the rest of the walk to Kun’s trying to will away his nerves but it’s harder than he expected. He’s nervous. He’s going to finally tell Kun and nothing is going to stop him.

Kun greets him with a hug that they both hesitate to end. He grabs the bags out of Ten’s hands and takes them to the table while Ten takes off his shoes and leaves his bag by the couch.

“I got a bunch of stuff, plus they always give me extra so I hope you like leftovers, Kunnie.”

There’s something that Ten really finds fulfilling about Kun happily stuffing his face with the food he brought, telling Ten how much he likes all of it. He pushes that thought away though, he can’t believe he likes Kun this much.

After they finish eating, Ten insists that Kun lets him help clean up. He puts the leftovers away while Kun does the dishes. He’s beginning to move around Kun’s kitchen with familiarity and it’s. It’s really nice.

They move to the couch and for whatever reason Ten left some space between him and Kun. He knows he should just move over, it’s not a big deal, they’ve become fairly physically affectionate. They have literally cuddled in bed, slept together, before but he still finds himself overthinking it for whatever reason. He hates being nervous.

Kun laughs, jolting him out of his thoughts, and he pulls Ten into his arms, “Come here you dummy.”

Ten fits perfectly under Kun’s arm, tucked into his side. It’s embarrassing how any type of physical contact with him makes him feel so happy. They end up putting on a movie, picking whatever was next on Kun’s queue for background noise.

Kun’s thumb is rubbing soothing circles on Ten’s shoulder as he cuddles up closer to Kun. They’re talking, not paying any attention to the movie. Ten just wants infinite moments like this, basking in Kun’s attention. This is it. If he was waiting for a perfect moment to punch him in the face, here it is.

“Kunkun,” he starts, placing his hand delicately on Kun’s chest. “I wanted to tell you—“

The door flies open, interrupting Ten. Yangyang comes in like a tornado. “Kun-ge,” he says, sounding upset, “Everything sucks.”

Yangyang looks up and sees Ten and Kun on the couch and he looks embarrassed, eyes wide realizing what he interrupted. “Oh shit, I didn’t realize you were having Ten-ge over. Wow, I really do keep interrupting your dates. I’m sorry I’ll go.” His words begin to run together and Ten is beginning to get alarmed at just how upset Yangyang looks.

Ten scoots away, and Kun takes it as permission to get up, but not before placing his hand on Ten’s thigh and squeezing it quickly. He goes over to Yangyang and pulls him into a hug. “What happened?”

Ten is pretty sure he hears Yangyang say “Guanheng” so he knows it’s has to be somewhat serious. He might not know them too well yet but he can tell that things like this don’t happen often. He heads into the kitchen and turns on the kettle, grabbing a mug and a tea bag from the cabinet, and leans against the counter waiting for it to boil. Kun comes in then, pouting.

He rests his forehead on Ten’s, placing his hands on Ten’s hips. “One day we won’t be interrupted by Yangyang and we can finally talk about _this._ ”

“it’s hard being a parent,” Ten teases, trying to hide his disappointment.

He tries his best to not be too upset about it though. At this point, it has to happen, especially since they’re not avoiding the topic anymore. It can wait, at least a little longer, as much as Ten really _really_ wants to kiss the shit out of Kun now and see just how far down his blush goes.

“You could stay,” Kun says, moving closer to Ten, hips flush, and his grip tightening.

“I really want to,” Ten responds honestly, “But your cute little demon son needs you. We should get Sichengie to babysit next time.”

“I’m glad you came over. Let me know when you get home okay, Tennie?”

Ten nods and hugs Kun tightly.

Kun then surprises the shit out of Ten, softly kissing his cheek, blushing like crazy. He’s pretty sure his own face is just as red.

Ten smiles softly. “Bye Kunkun.”

On his way out, he also gives Yangyang a big hug. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Yangyang nods and then replies, “You were gonna talk to him right? Xuxi mentioned it, I forgot. Sorry.”

Ten frowns at that. “Yangyang it’s fine. Seriously, don’t worry about it. Talk to your Kun-ma, okay?”

Ten texts Yukhei while he’s walking home, but he doesn’t answer.

 

**ten**

Was about to tell him but yangyang showed up looking upset :(

hope your night was more successful!

He ends up sending a message to Kunhang too. He’s beginning to feel slightly responsible for him. The pressures of parenthood he assumes, so he reaches out just letting him know that if he needs something or wants to talk he’s available.

When Ten gets home, he makes himself a cup of tea and gets settled on his couch, ready to marathon something. He’s almost caught up with Fruits Basket when he gets messages from Yukhei. He sent him two photos, both of him and Sicheng. The first one is just the two of them smiling. The second one is Yukhei planting a kiss on Sicheng’s cheek and Sicheng laughing. They look happy. It’s disgustingly cute, and Ten tells him so.

 

 **yukhei** 🐶🤪

You have to try again Ten!!!

Gotta hold up your end of the deal :)

He also happens to get a message from Kun then too.

 **kunkun** 🌷🌸💗

Okay i finally solved the yanghang problem

I think they’re gonna make up tomorrow

I wish you stayed :(

 

Ten sighs. He wishes he did too. 

\----

Ten sends Sicheng an alarming amount of texts insisting that he gives him attention in the morning. He wants to vent about how unlucky he is. He also wants to get as many details as possible from him about what exactly happened with Yukhei.

 He finally manages to goad Sicheng into a video call and he immediately launches into a recap of his night with Kun. To his annoyance, Sicheng laughs at him.

“Do you want me to babysit your children next time?”

“Yes,” Ten replies. “I should be asleep in Kunkun’s bed right now, not in my living room ignoring this essay that’s due tomorrow.”

“Of course, dear,” Sicheng replies. “Now that you’ve ranted, is this the part that you ask about Xuxi?”

“You know me so well, Sicheng.”

Ten finishes the essay in the afternoon. He’s relieved it’s not going to turn into an all night thing and that he still has the rest of the Sunday to fight off the Sunday Sads with whatever he feels like doing. He’s scrolling through Instagram, liking a sappy post Taeyong made last night with a photo of him and Jaehyun from their date. He also sees that Yukhei posted that first picture he sent of him and Sicheng smiling and he likes and comments on it.

It’s then that his phone explodes with notifications. Ten finds himself added to a group chat with Yangyang and Chenle. It’s called “KunTen Family Lockdown👨👨👦👦” and he does not even remotely want to read it but his curiosity gets the better of him.

 

 **yangyang** 👼😈1️⃣

TEN-ALMOST-MA

 **chenle** 👼😈2️⃣

WHY ARENT YOU TEN-MA YET

Kun-ma likes u :(

Like a lot :(

 **yangyang** 👼😈1️⃣

Ya!!!!!!!

it’s really embarrassing actually? :(

kun-ma is nice and handsome!!

 **chenle** 👼😈2️⃣

So handsome!!

He’s a good cook!!

And he’s caring!!

 **yangyang** 👼😈1️⃣

HE CAN DO MAGIC TEN-ALMOST-MA

 **chenle** 👼😈2️⃣

Magic!!!! He’s the best in the whole world!!!

Why won’t you date our kun-ma!!!

 **yangyang** 👼😈1️⃣

wait tennie-ge adopted kunhang let me add him too

chenle!!! he’s gonna be our brother :D

 _Kunhang_ 👼😈👨👦 _has been added to the chat_

 **kunhang** 👼😈👨👦

Oh are we getting our parents together?

 **chenle** 👼😈2️⃣

YES :D

 **kunhang** 👼😈👨👦

Cool!

TEN-MA!!!! I WANT ANOTHER MOM!!!!

I WANT KUN TO BE MY MOM TOO

MY KUN-MA TOO????!!!!!!!

 

Ten is beyond horrified. It just keeps going and going, his phone vibrating every few seconds. It’s like The Shining twins became triplets and learned how to weaponize group chats. He’s almost positive that if they had any idea where he lived they would have showed up at his apartment. Or even worse, they would somehow manage to be inside waiting for him. They just encourage each other to be more and more obnoxious.

Demons.

Cute and adorable, but very much still demons.

They start bickering amongst themselves and Ten takes advantage of their distraction to finally reply.

 

**Ten**

don’t worry my little demons <3

 

He immediately leaves the chat afterwards.

\----

 

Kun surprises Ten and meets him outside of his last class on Monday, leaning against the wall messing with his phone until Ten approaches him.

“Coffee?” Kun asks even though he knows Ten is gonna say yes. He _always_ says yes. “And I want cake too.”  

“You spoil me, Kun-ge,” Ten replies, giving him a hug.

“Who says I’m paying for you?” Kun teases. Ten rolls his eyes and slips his hand into Kun’s. He smiles warmly and squeezes Ten’s hand. It’s wild just how happy every little thing with Kun makes him feel.

They’re almost there, Kun telling Ten how his classes went. The sun clings to Kun and makes him glow. Ten doesn’t want to take his eyes off of him, not when his eyes crinkle when he smiles and always gives Ten his undivided attention. It’s when Kun smiles at him at him that he  finally speaks.

“I think I’m in love with you?”

And that, that is not what Ten meant to say, just slipping out so casually, but he means it. He’s stupidly in love with this sweet boy who takes care of everyone and is so so open. Who wears his heart on his sleeve. Who goes out of his way to make sure everyone else doesn’t feel so alone so far from home. Who’s so patient and kind.

“Oh,” Kun says, a small smile making his dimples pop out, “Are we doing this now?”

“Kunkun,” Ten whines.

“Tenten.”

Kun smiles brightly. Blindingly. Ten has seen Kun smile so many times but this one is just his. It makes his heart soar. He puts his hands gently on Ten’s face and finally, _finally_ kisses him. When he goes to pull away, Ten leans back in and kisses him again. Kun’s hand move from his cheek and he runs it through Ten’s hair.

“I love you too, by the way. Obviously,” Kun says.

And that is maybe the best thing Ten has ever heard. 

“We’re closer to yours, right Kunnie?” Ten asks.

“Yeah,” he replies. “Why?”

“Kun,” Ten deadpans. “Let’s go back to _yours_ so we be can be _alone_.”

“Oh.” Kun is blushing a deep red and Ten has absolutely won. “Right, yeah, let’s go.”

The second they get into Kun’s apartment Ten kisses him again. He can’t get over the fact that he can just do this now.

“I have wanted to kiss you since I first saw you at Taeyong’s,” Kun admits.

Ten thinks of all of the moments since he met Kun that they could have been doing this. “I’m going to _kill_ you for not kissing me sooner, Kunkun.”

“Wow I can’t wait to shut you up with kisses now,” Kun says.

“I can’t believe my boyfriend is already annoying me,” Ten shoots back.

“Oh,” Kun says grin widening, “So I’m your boyfriend?”

Ten replies, “Well, only if you wanna be.” He tries to sound nonchalant about it, but it’s nerve wracking.

“Of course I wanna be your boyfriend, Tenten. I wanted to tell you so many times but I always got so scared.”

“Why,” Ten asks, perplexed.

“I mean, you’re all,” he moves his hands trying to explain, “You’re just you. You’re so gorgeous and talented and smart. I’d sometimes think that maybe you liked me too but then I would just back out or we’d get interupted by Yangyang right when I thought I could really do it.”

“I get what you mean,” Ten confesses. “I liked you right away, I think. I just never realized how much I really liked you, or that it was more than just some crush for a while. Actually basically until Sicheng told me I did? Really dumb of me, honestly. Now, I really think we’ve talked enough at this point so _please kiss me._ ”

Kun happily obliges.

Ten distracts Kun the entire time he’s trying to cook dinner. He sits on the counter and criticizes everything, just like he did last time.  But this time instead of Kun just snarking him back he really does shut him up with kisses. He could get used to this. 

“Hey Kun?” he says, pouting.

“Yeah babe?” Kun replies, turning to Ten and tilting his head.

“Love you,” he says. Because he can, literally whenever he wants.

Kun goes to him, leans up to kiss him.

“Love you too,” Kun replies with a soft smile on his face.

They stand, embracing, when Ten remembers what Yangyang said.

“Oh, Kun, I wanted to ask you something.”

Kun tilts his head at him.

“Yangyang said you do magic.”

“Oh fuck,” Kun says with a surprised look on his face. He hides his face in his hands, and Ten is revelling in just how embarrassed he’s getting.

“When did he tell you?”

“Oh, I got accosted via group message by your demon sons and my demon son, who were all very adamant that we should be together and they began talking about how great you are and apparently decided that _magic_ is a selling point.”

“I told you they were demons,” Kun replies fondly.

“You can’t distract me with your handsome face and cute dimples, Qian Kun, tell me about the magic.”

Kun sighs, still blushing. “Me and one of my close friends back in China learned how to do a bunch of different magic tricks for fun. I like the ones with playing cards most. I used to do them a lot for Chenle and Yangyang when they were being really pouty and needed to be distracted.”

“God, you do the most embarrassing things for others, unbelievable,” Ten teases.

Ten opens his mouth, about to spew out more nonsense to fluster Kun who just kisses him, shutting him up. Ten is only a little annoyed at how effective it is.

They end up on the couch, cuddling just like the other night, but this time finally free of any interruptions.

“Oh,” Ten exclaims in the middle of the movie, startling Kun who just looks at him incredulously as he scrambles to grab his phone from the coffee table and looks at Kun.

“We have to take selfies,” he says seriously.

Kun just stares, before replying sarcastically, “Of course, Tenten, we _have_ to take selfies. Right now, in the middle of a _movie._ ”

Ten rolls his eyes. “Shut up,  Kun. Yukhei and I made a deal to talk to you and Sicheng and after he talked to Sicheng he sent me stupid cute selfies of them, and now it’s my turn, Kunkun. I deserve this.  Now come closer we have to be cuter than them.”

They end up taking a ton of photos, Kun indulging him.

They go through the photos together, Kun making Ten airdrop each one as they scroll through. Ten picks two just like the ones that he got and sends them to Yukhei.  In the first, him and Kun are both smiling. He hesitates before sending the second one. In that one, Kun is kissing Ten’s cheek and Ten looks the happiest he’s ever seen himself in a photo. He almost wants to keep it for himself but he knows that they’re gonna end up taking tons of photos like this anyway, so he sends it too.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I finished her! This was my first multi-chaptered fic and also my longest. I'm really happy that I managed to actually _do_ it, and I really hope it's okay.  
> Thank you for reading!  
> Seriously, thank you all for reading and giving kudos and commenting on my baby. She means a lot to me and I'm glad I shared her with all of you. <3  
>    
> [talk to me about wayv<3 ](http://www.twitter.com/fleur_cannon)


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